The Age (& SMH) / AP | Samy Magdy | 19 January 2025
Please God all sides stick to it – Mark
Israel’s cabinet approved a deal early on Saturday for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of dozens of hostages that will pause the 15-month war with Hamas for six weeks. The deal brings Israel and Hamas a step closer to ending their deadliest and most destructive fighting ever.
The ceasefire – just the second achieved during the war – is expected to begin on Sunday.
Mediators Qatar and the United States announced the ceasefire on Wednesday, but the deal was in limbo for more than a day as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted there were last-minute complications that he blamed on the Hamas militant group.
Israel’s full cabinet met on Friday evening on a Gaza cease f ire deal after Netanyahu confirmed an agreement had been reached that would pause the war with Hamas and release dozens of hostages.
Its security cabinet had recommended the deal’s approval earlier in the day, and the full cabinet was expected to ap prove the ceasefire, which could start as soon as Sunday. The deal has drawn fierce resistance Fighting continued into Friday, and Gaza’s Health Ministry said 88 bodies had arrived at hospitals in the past 24 hours. In previous conflicts, both sides have stepped up military operations in the final hours before ceasefires as a way to project strength. from Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners, whose objections could destabilise his government.
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